Food intolerances or "sensitivities" can affect you in so many ways.And they’re a lot more common than most people think.I'm not talking about anaphylaxis or immediate allergic reactions that involve an immune response. Those can be serious and life-threatening. If you have any allergies, you need to steer clear of any traces of foods you are allergic to, and speak with your doctor or pharmacist about emergency medication, if necessary. What I'm talking about, is an intolerance, meaning you do not tolerate a specific food very well and it causes immediate or chronic symptoms anywhere in the body. Symptoms can take hours or even days to show themselves. And symptoms can be located just about anywhere in the body.This is what makes them so tricky to identify.

You probably know the negative health effects of eating too much sugar, especially "added sugars" like in soda pop, candy, baked goods, and many commercially-available cereals, just to name a few. Added sugar is hiding just about everywhere in the grocery store.Yes, ingesting refined sugar spikes your blood sugar and insulin, and increases your risk for a whole host of issues. A while ago, one of the food industry’s responses to the demand for lower-calorie foods that still taste great, was artificial sweeteners.The idea behind them is that you can still get the sweetness, without the calories; like when you have a “diet pop” versus a regular one. Theoretically, this was going to help people maintain a healthy body weight, and hopefully not increase anyone’s risk of heart disease, diabetes, or obesity.But, it doesn’t always work out the way we think it will...

During menopause women tend to gain weight. While this isn't great it’s pretty common and there are many reasons why.

Two reasons why women gain weight during menopause...

Reason #1Reduced muscle mass. Muscle mass uses energy (burns calories) so when we have less of it the body burns less energy overall, leading to weight gain. Unfortunately, this weight gain may appear as increased belly fat. Reason #2During menopause there is an increase in the hunger hormone “ghrelin”. With an increase in this hormone comes the tendency is to feel hungrier. Menopause also decreased the “satiety” hormone “leptin” that helps us feel full after eating which can lead to overeating.More ghrelin and less leptin = increased hunger and a decreased feeling of fullness...that’s a problem!What does all of this have to do with breakfast?

Libido is such an interesting (and complex) experience. Because of this it can be affected by so many things. And we're not just talking about the obvious sex hormone testosterone here.Although testosterone levels can have a big (yes BIG) effect on sex drive there are a lot of subtle things that can be going on too. In this post we'll dive into a bunch of key diet and lifestyle factors that have been shown to increase testosterone and libido.

Not everyone should be taking digestive enzyme supplements; and not all of them are created equal.

As a practitioner, I find that many people with digestive issues want to jump straight into using a supplement. And many times I would rather try other strategies first. Not to mention, that some supplements can be harmful if used inappropriately.

So, let’s dive into a few of the common digestive enzymes, what they do, and who should NOT take them.

Bloating is generally the result of not being able to properly digest foods. These not-so-digested foods feel like they're just sitting around causing discomfort and a general feeling of being stuffed and “gassy”.It can happen at any age but if it seems to be more frequent as you're getting older it can very well be because of your stomach's reduced ability to produce enough acid for proper digestion.

You knew there was a bit of an over-emphasis (borderlining obsession) about cholesterol, right?Before we jump into some myths let's make sure we're on the same page when it comes to what exactly cholesterol is.Myth #1: “Cholesterol” is cholesterolWhile cholesterol is an actual molecule what it is bound to while it's floating through your blood is what's more important than just how much of it there is overall. In fact depending on what it's combined with can have opposite effects on your arteries and heart. Yes, opposite!

You totally want to ditch your scale, don't you? You may have this weird kind of relationship with your “weight”. I mean, it doesn't define you (obviously). What you weigh can matter but only to a certain extent. Let's look at your waist circumference (well...you look at yours and I'll look at mine).

You may feel tired, cold or that you've gained weight. Maybe your digestion seems a bit more “sluggish”.You may be convinced that your metabolism is slow.Why does this happen? Why do metabolic rates slow down?

Author

I'm Deanne Dietz, a registered Holistic Nutritionist, fitness enthusiast and mother to 2 beautful little children. It's my passion to help people achieve their personal goals anddreams. For the fully detailed version of me, check out the "About Deanne" page on this website.